The new compounds of the present invention have not been described previously. The synthesis only of 3-carbethoxyamino-5-methylamino-acetyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenz[b,f]azepine has been described (Die Pharmazie 40/1985, 825-835), but not with reference to its pharmacological action.
Of the structurally related 3-carbalkoxyamino-5-dialkylaminoacyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenz[b,f]azepines, 3-carbethoxyamino-5-dimethylaminoacetyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenz[b,f]azepin e described in (German Democratic Republic patent No. 152,782; Soviet Patent No. 1,089,089), is undergoing clinical trials at the present time. The new compounds of the present invention differ from these known ones basically due to the amine group, which is a tertiary amino group in the compounds of the aforementioned literature, but is a primary or secondary amino group in the compounds of the present invention.
It is well known that this decisive structural difference not only requires different chemical processes for the synthesis but also is associated with new factors with respect to the pharmacological effects of the compounds of the present invention. This is true particularly for the behavior of such compounds in the course of the biological degradation and metabolism in the organism, as evidenced by the remarkable effect on absorption, distribution, biotransformation and elimination and, with that, on the character and duration of the resulting effect.
Numerous other antiarrhythmic drugs are known, which are used on a more or less broad scale in the therapy of heart disorders. These include, quinidine, lidocaine, mexiletin, verapamil, propafenone, disopyramide, morazicine and etazicine. In some cases greater differences in the chemical structures of these materials do not reveal any generally valid rules for describing structure-effect relationships. The generally known therapeutic drugs are not structurally related to the compounds of the present invention.